Well, here’s a big lie the Iowa Press panel let third district Republican congressman Zach Nunn get away with on the latest episode, April 14, 2023.

Nunn: “When I watch on the news a parent at a school board meeting being treated as a domestic terrorist, I think that struck a chord with a lot of parents that just for asking questions all of a sudden they were being put as an enemy of the state. ”

So Republicans are still pushing the false claim that parents are being called terrorists and enemies of the state for complaining and merely “asking a question.” If Nunn follows the news,  he should know this is a false claim, another one of those accidentally on purpose misunderstandings where Republicans get it wrong to their advantage.

According to Factcheck:

‘”U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that he couldn’t even “imagine a circumstance” where “parents complaining” at a school board meeting would be “labeled as domestic terrorism.” Yet, several Republicans have continued to falsely claim Garland called such parents “terrorists.”’

“… a letter from the National School Boards Association to Garland last fall argued some violent threats against school officials “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism” that would warrant the intervention of federal law enforcement. In his response, Garland directed his agency to review strategies to address violent threats and harassment against school boards..”

Violent threats against school officials.  Harassment.  See the difference? Not just asking a question. Not just complaining.

The fact check goes on:

“On “Fox News Sunday” on April 17… Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, said that if Republicans regained control of the House in the November elections, a Republican majority would be “able to stand up to an attorney general who goes after parents and calls them terrorists if they want to go to a school board meeting.”

“The claim has also found its way into political advertising. An ad for Republican Idaho Speaker of the House Scott Bedke, who is running for lieutenant governor, says, “When Joe Biden’s Justice Department labeled parents ‘domestic terrorists,’ Scott Bedke said, ‘Bull.’ Scott Bedke stood up for Idaho parents, their right to be heard, and led the fight against critical race theory.”

“To be clear, the Justice Department did not label parents “domestic terrorists.” As we said, the use of the phrase originated with a Sept. 29, 2021, letter sent by the National School Boards Association, a federation of state associations that represent locally elected school board officials, to the White House seeking federal assistance to stop what it said was a growing number of threats and acts of violence against public school board members and other public school district officials..” [bolding BFIA’s]

The NSBA likely intimidated by right wing faux outrage, ended up apologizing for their language. But it seems  based on reliable reporting, the language was justifiable.

 –  “I Don’t Want to Die for It’: School Board Members Face Rising Threats – Across the country, parents have threatened board members and vandalized their homes. One board member scans his driveway before walking to his car.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/05/us/politics/school-board-threats.html

 –  School boards get death threats over race, gender, mask policies –   
School board members across the United States have endured a rash of terroristic threats and hostile messages ignited by roiling controversies.  https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-education-threats/

  –  Death threats, online abuse, police protection: School board members face dark new reality –  The school board member in Loudoun County, Va., had been fielding abusive, profane and threatening emails, Facebook messages and phone calls.  https://www.washingtonpost.com › local › 2021/11/09

Republicans want you to think these are just concerned individuals asking sincere questions.  None of the details underlying Zach Nunn’s comment were discussed on the Iowa Press program.

Is it too much to expect that we could count on the Iowa Press reporters to do their jobs and stop allowing Republicans to lie on the air and mischaracterize the truth unchallenged?  They’re supposed to be the professional journalists, right?

When they let a lie stand, they are themselves promoting it. Anyone watching the program would have no reason to think Nunn wasn’t telling the truth. They would believe that parents who “complain”  or who only “ask a question” are now being labeled domestic terrorists.  No one on the Iowa Press panel attempted to correct or challenge the false claim.

Iowa Press invites electeds on the program and then lets them lie. What is the point?